Airline sector ends mixed as oil drops

AugustCole

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The Amex Airline Index closed in the red Wednesday with five of the 10 stocks in the index managing modest gains as crude oil prices dropped beneath $66 a barrel in New York.

Though down 0.3% on Wednesday at 50.40 points, the Amex Airline Index ($XAL) is up almost 5% this week as oil has moved lower.

Oil prices closed $66, down $1.21 to $65.85 after a key inventories report calmed the markets. See Futures Movers.

Among the gainers, Frontier Airlines
FRNT, +0.00%
rose 1.8% to $7.81 as the strongest percentage gainer in the index.

American Airlines' parent AMR Corp.
AMR, -2.86%
gained 0.5% to $19.88 on volume of 4.1 million shares as the most active stock in the group.

Continental Airlines
CAL, +0.21%
closed up 1.2% to $19.39 on volume of 3.1 million shares.

Southwest Airlines
LUV, +0.52%
also advanced with about 3.1 million shares changing hands as the stock ended up 0.2% to $16.40.

Even after Tuesday's rally driven by the company's fourth-quarter results, AirTran
AAI, +0.00%
stock closed up 0.6% to $15.54.

Mesa Air Group
MESA
stock ended the day modestly lower with a 0.1% decline to $11.53. The regional aircraft operator reported a fiscal first-quarter profit ahead of analyst expectations and sharply higher revenue. Traffic increased during the quarter by almost 17%.

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